hi from nikki in ireland

Annie from Irl · August 27, 2007

Hi there,I joined this website looking for other Irish people who have had a lap band operation under Jerome Manuceau in ACS.I'm due to get the lap band on Sept12th and I'm worried about the procedure. Can someone who has already got it done tell me exactly what happens on the day of the op?Does anyone have good advice on how to survive life after the op?Do you feel very hungry?Can you do everything you could do before the op?Does the procedure hurt a lot?!!

I have so many questions and although the staff are nice in ACS I feel like they are always too busy dealing with other customers!

From,Annie

kermit · August 28, 2007

hi there - I had it done in Dublin on July 27. I checked in and found that there were five others having the same procedure. There is some time taken up with antiseptic shower, getting changed, having to insert two suppositories (I know!). The staff there are very kind and depending on when your op is you might meet some people before it.Then it is off to theatre where you have a snooze (I was really nervous and thought they might not give me enough anaesthetic or something)...but then I woke up and had a conversation with the nurse and it was back to the bed with me. I had no pain, had a snooze for a while and then wanted to get up and about. The biggest annoyance for me was the drip line in the hand....couldn't lie comfortably until it was gone. The night was longish as I was snoozing and waking a lot. I was very thirsty and the nurses were so attentive all the time. Next morning I had half a yoghurt and a cup of tea and then discharged after the doctor had spoken to us individually. They give you antibiotics and painkillers to take home with instructions about food etc. Dr Jerome advices liquids for the first four or five days but then onto mushed food and gradually to solids - much faster than other posters on the foum. I think he likes you to get into normal food asap so you can start getting a normal life routine as a banded person - learning to chew and regulate bite size off the bat. So that was my experience and since then I have lost a few pounds in the first two weeks and then I have had a humiliating return to loads of food and binge eating (volume less but pattern same). I wish sometimes I could wave a magic wand and have no mouth at all! I am due my first fill on Sept 7 and have to find a way to solve this before then. I am thinking of doing a week on liquid then mush in strict quantities to get my pouch smaller as I think I have probably stretched it. I can't believe I amsabotaging myself and feel very disgusted. I thought that spending all that money (which I borrowed!) would have helped me to focus but of course the habiits of a lifetime are not broken in a few weeks or months. Thank God other posters on the forum have been honest in cataloguing their fears, regrets and mistakes. It is great to hear the fabulous weight loss stories but the day to day honest confessions are so helpful to me personally and I will use them on bad days to regroup and tackle it again. Sorry to ramble but hope this mail was useful - it is a warts n' all picture of my experience so far.

Annie from Irl · August 28, 2007

Hi thanks so much for that reply,it really helps to know whats ahead!I can't believe you have to have two soposotories!I'm not looking forward to that!Thanks for your honesty too, its good to know that its not easy to give up old habits even after the operation.Did you go on any diet before the op?Please let me know how your first fill goes!I hope that you are finding the strength to lose weight,its a struggle for all of us,I should know!Is the band a useful tool?Are you glad you had the op?

Coco · August 28, 2007

Hi Annie,

I too was banded with ACS and there is another thread called "Hi from Ireland" which is full of people who were banded with ACS. You don't have a pre op diet to do, and the fills take only a couple of minutes to do and don't hurt other than a pin prick. In my opinion the band is the best invention ever. I don't regret it for a moment even though it hasn't been a straight road all the way for me. Good luck and pop in to the other thread and meet some more of us bandsters. :rolleyes:

Hi thanks so much for that reply,it really helps to know whats ahead!I can't believe you have to have two soposotories!I'm not looking forward to that!Thanks for your honesty too, its good to know that its not easy to give up old habits even after the operation.Did you go on any diet before the op?Please let me know how your first fill goes!I hope that you are finding the strength to lose weight,its a struggle for all of us,I should know!Is the band a useful tool?Are you glad you had the op?